Where to buy pet snakes?

The first wild snake I encountered as a child, on a dead-end street in the Bronx, measured a mere 10 inches long. However, it excited me as much as did the huge anacondas and pythons I visited regularly at the Bronx and Staten Island Zoos, and the American Museum of Natural History. That particular Northern Brown or DeKay’s Snake (Storeria dekayi dekayi) escaped, but you can bet I searched nonstop until I found another! Happily, this adaptable little serpent continues to hang on in the most unlikely habitats…each year I receive several in need of rehab, collected in busy Manhattan neighborhoods. This overlooked snake has much to offer reptile enthusiasts. It can be comfortably-housed in a 10 gallon tank, does not eat rodents, and it’s the young are produced alive, eliminating the hassle of egg-incubation. Brown Snakes are ideal candidates for naturalistic terrariums stocked with live plants, and when kept so they will exhibit a wider range of natural behaviors than can be expected from large snakes – it’s just far easier to provide them with all that they need. As a career herpetologist, I’ve gone on to care for and observe in the wild the same huge snakes that entranced me so long ago…yet I still maintain Brown Snakes, and watch them in my yard at every opportunity.

Brown Snake Description

Slender and graceful, the Brown Snake averages a mere 9-13 inches in length, although exceptionally-large individuals may reach 20 inches. The largest I recall handling measured 14.5 inches.

Most are clad in various shades of brown (no surprises there!) or tan, but some individuals sport an attractive reddish or yellow hue. Brown Snakes are often confused with Garter Snakes, but may be distinguished by the two lines of black spots that run along their backs.

Range and Habitat

The Brown Snake is one of North America’s most widespread and common snakes. The seven subspecies range from southern Canada through much of the USA through Mexico to Guatemala.

Equally at home in fields, swamps, forest edges or suburban yards, the Brown Snake’s secretive ways also allow it to survive in parks and overgrown lots in urban areas. It is often the first (and, in NYC, the only!) snake to be found and brought home by curious children.

Source: blogs.thatpetplace.com

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